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Lights
Lights (born Valerie Anne Poxleitner on April 11th, 1987) is a Canadian (electropop/electro-rock) singer/songwriter and musician. So far she has released four studio albums: The Listening, Siberia, Little Machines, and Skin&Earth. Early Life Lights was born as Valerie Anne Poxleitner on the 11th April 1987, in Timmins, Ontario. She is of German and Austrian ancestry. She spent much of her childhood moving around with her missionary parents (Sidney and Lilika Poxleitner), and sister Jess. They went around many parts of the world including the Phillipines, Jamaica, Ontario, and British Columbia. Up until their teenage years, because of travelling, Lights (known then as Valerie) and her younger sister were home-schooled by their parents. After this, she attended Chesley District High School and John Diefenbaker High School before moving to Toronto at the age of 18, during which time she legally changed her name to Lights. Music Career 2006–07: Musical beginnings In high school, Lights played guitar and sang in the metal band Shovel Face. She set up a page on Myspace, accumulating a following. She began writing for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and composed music for the television series Instant Star. She and Luke McMasterare credited with composing "Perfect," sung in the role of Jude Harrison on the show by Alexz Johnson. In 2007, she contracted with Jian Ghomeshi, who acted as her manager until late 2014. 2008–09: Lights and The Listening Starting in early 2008, Lights toured cities in the Great Lakes region, in both Canada and the United States. Around the same time, her song "Drive My Soul" rose to No.18 in the Canadian Hot 100. In late 2008, she toured the United States. In August 2008, Lights signed a record deal with Toronto-based label Underground Operations. She also signed an American partnership deal with Warner Bros. along with Doghouse Records. Her EP was released in stores in September. Her second single, "February Air," which had been used in a commercial for Old Navy in early 2008, released in December and sold about 12,000 copies. Lights contributed vocals in Ten Second Epic's song "Every Day" and appeared in their music video. The song appeared on the Big Shiny Tunes 14 compilation album and the music video was nominated for Best Independent Music Video at the 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards. She is also featured on the soundtrack (songs "Ben" and "Climbing") for the 2008 Canadian film One Week, starring Joshua Jackson. She was a guest vocalist on the album A Shipwreck in the Sand, released in 2009 by post-hardcore band Silverstein from Burlington, Ontario. In 2009, Lights released her third single to Canadian radio stations called "Ice" with a homemade video released on her MySpace. She also released a second video for "Ice" in Canada on November 10, 2009. It was released in the United States on November 11, 2009. On August 10, 2009, her music video for "Saviour" was released. In March, Lights was named on the American music website Shred News's 10 Artists to Watch in 2010. While touring in the summer on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour, Lights's single "Saviour" premiered on Canadian radio stations on July 6, 2009. The song is from her first full-length album, The Listening, which was released on September 22 in Canada. It was released on October 6 in the United States after she left Underground Operations for her own record label, Lights Music Inc. The cover for the album was also released. According to Lights, the entire artwork was inspired by Watchmen, 28 Days Later, and Sailor Moon. In September 2009, Lights toured with the British band Keane on their Canadian/Pacific Northwest tour. In late 2009, Lights toured all around the United States and Canada with Stars of Track and Field. 2010–2013: Acoustic EP, Siberia, Siberia Acoustic, and tour Lights toured from January–May 2010 with contemporary synthpop artist Owl City in Canada, the United States, and Europe. She was featured on Owl City's song "The Yacht Club" on 2011 album All Things Bright and Beautiful, and appeared in the music video for his song "Deer in the Headlights." She went on a two-week solo UK tour in May 2010 being supported by fellow Canadian artist Rich Aucoin for most of her shows. Additionally, Lights was a special guest for pop-rock band Hedley's The Show Must Go... On The Road Tour, as well as These Kids Wear Crowns. Lights released an acoustic EP titled Acoustic in July 2010. Her debut for the album was at the University of Waterloo, where she had received most of her inspiration for the album. That same month, she began her six-date tour around the US, performing her songs acoustically. In September, she toured with Hedley for eight dates on the Ontario leg of their Canadian tour. In October 2010, Bring Me The Horizon's album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret featured Lights as a guest vocalist on the songs "Crucify Me" and "Don't Go." She is also featured on The Secret Handshake's song "Used to be Sweet" from their album Night and Day. In October 2010, Lights released "My Boots." She also left on her headlining tour with Jeremy Fisher. At the June 2011 Utopia Music Festival, Lights performed three new songs, "Toes", "Where the Fence is Low," and "Everybody Breaks a Glass." The single "Toes" was released in August as the first single to Lights' second studio album, Siberia. Lights signed with Last Gang Records; concerns by the label executives about her shift in style to a more gritty sound caused delay in the release of the album, but it was eventually released online in the US and Canada on October 4 and later that month in iTunes stores in Australia. Siberia received positive reviews and was nominated for a Juno Award for Best Pop Album of the Year. Lights said in an interview that her favorite song on Siberia was "Flux and Flow." In March 2013, Lights released an acoustic version of "Cactus in the Valley", featuring Owl City, as a single in the UK. Siberia Acoustic, was released in April 2013, and reached Number 7 in Canada. She toured around North America in support of the album, with Dear Rouge opening some dates and Lianne La Havas opening others. 2014–2016: Little Machines In July 2014, Lights' album, Little Machines, became available for pre-order on iTunes with its lead single, "Up We Go", available to download. The album was released on September 23 in the US and Canada. “Running with the Boys" received radio play early 2015 as the second official single, while "Portal" and "Same Sea" received promotional releases. In September 2014 the music video for "Up We Go" was released.34 This video was filmed all in one take and currently has more than 2.5 million views. In October, Lights parted ways with her long-time manager Jian Ghomeshi. In 2015 the artist continued touring extensively in venues such as Old National Centre in Indianapolis in support of the album. That year she began work on an EP titled "Midnight Machines".; it was released on April 8, 2016 and included six tracks from Little Machines, as well as two new songs called "Follow You Down" and "Head Cold." Avatars of Lights with her band and her songs "Same Sea" and "Up We Go" were featured in the 2016 video game "LOUD on Planet X". 2017–present: Skin & Earth In April 2017, Lights announced the forthcoming release of her fourth studio album, Skin & Earth. A comic book series designed by the singer accompanied the release of the record, with the first edition published in July 2017. New music was released with each edition on a monthly basis until the album was released in full. On May 28, Lights released a snippet of the first single on an online map of the world in her comic's Instagram account. On June 8 she released a second snippet of the song, and revealed the title, "Giants", on June 15. "Giants" and its accompanying music video were released on June 23. The song peaked at number eighteen on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart. On July 14, Lights released a promotional single from the album, titled "Skydiving". The album was made available for pre-orders on August 11, 2017, and was released on September 22, 2017. Lights released the song "Savage" on August 11, 2017, followed by "New Fears" on September 15, 2017. The album track "Fight Club" is featured in the game Just Dance 2018, released in October. On November 7th, Lights announced the "We Were Here Tour" with Chase Atlantic, Dear Rouge and DCF. In January 2018, Lights embarked on the tour across North America, where she played 46 shows, in support of the album. On February 2, 2018, Lights released the music video for her song "We Were Here". Personal Life Lights was introduced to Beau Bokan, the lead vocalist of metalcore band Blessthefall at a Taking Back Sunday concert in Los Angeles, and the two quickly started dating. After becoming engaged in September 2011, they were married on May 12, 2012 and Lights added "Bokan" to her last name (now stylised as Poxleitner-Bokan). Their first child, Rocket Wild, was born in February 2014. In 2014, the family moved to Mission, British Columbia. In an interview with People magazine in 2017, Lights came out as bisexual. Musical Influences Information Here Discography ; LIGHTS Discography ; Studio Albums The Listening Released: September 22, 2009 (CAN) ;Labels: Sire, Universal ;Formats: CD, DD Siberia ; Released: October 4, 2011 (CAN) ; Labels: Universal, Last Gang ; Formats: CD, DD, LP Little Machines ; Released: September 23, 2014 (CAN) ; Labels: Universal, Warner ; Formats: CD, DD, LP Skin&Earth ; Released: September 22, 2017 ; Labels: Universal, Warner ; Formats: CD, DD, LP ; Compilation Albums Siberia Acoustic Released: April 30, 2013 (CAN) ;Labels: Universal, Last Gang ;Format: CD, LP, DD ; EPs Lights EP Released: April 22, 2008 (CAN) ; Labels: Underground, Doghouse ; Format: CD, LP, DD ; Acoustic ; Released: July 20, 2010 (CAN) ; Labels: Sire, Universal ; Format: CD, DD ; Siberia (Remixed) ; Released: February 28, 2012 (CAN) ; Label: Last Gang ; Format: DD ; iTunes Session ; Released: April 3, 2012 (CAN) ; Label: Universal ; Format: DD Midnight Machines ; Released: April 8, 2016(CAN) ; Label: Warner Bros. ; Format: CD, LP, DD ; Singles “Drive My Soul" 2008 ; Lights and The Listening ; "February Air" 2008 ; Lights and The Listening ; ; "Saviour" 2009 ; The Listening ; "Ice" 2009 ; The Listening "Second Go" 2010 The Listening "My Boots” 2010 My Boots "Everybody Breaks a Glass" (featuring Holy Fuck and Shad) 2011 Siberia "Toes" 2011 Siberia "Where the Fence Is Low" 2012 Siberia "Cactus in the Valley" (Acoustic) (featuring Owl City) 2013 Siberia Acoustic “Portal” 2014 Little Machines "Up We Go” 2014 Little Machines "Running with the Boys" 2015 Little Machines "Same Sea" (K.Flay Remix) 2015 Little Machines “Meteorites” 2016 Midnight Machines ; “Giants" 2017 ; Skin&Earth ; "Skydiving" 2017 ; Skin&Earth ; "Savage" 2017 ; Skin&Earth ; "Fight Club" 2017 ; Skin&Earth ; "New Fears" 2017 ;Skin&Earth ; "Giants" (Acoustic) 2017 ; Giants (Acoustic) ; "We Were Here" 2018 ; Skin&Earth ; As Featured Artist: ; "Every Day" (Ten Second Epic featuring Lights) 2009 ; Hometown ; "Wavin' Flag" (as part of Young Artists for Haiti) 2010 ; "True Colors" (as part of Artists Against Bullying) 2012 ; "No One Knows Who We Are" (Kaskade and Swanky Tunes featuring Lights) 2013 ; Atmosphere ; "Zero Gravity" (Borgeous featuring Lights) 2015 ; "Falling Away" (Seven Lions featuring Lights) 2015 ; Creation "Warrior" (Steve James featuring Lights) 2017 Awards and Nominations Lights won Indie Awards in the Favourite Solo Artist and Astral Media RadioFavourite Single categories during Canadian Music Week in March 2009 in Toronto. She won the Best New Artist Awards in the Hot AC and CHR categories. All awards were for her debut single "Drive My Soul," except the award for Favourite Solo Artist. She also won in the best new artist category at the 2009 Juno Awards. In 2010, she was nominated in the Indie Awards for "Video of the Year" (Drive My Soul), "Pop Artist of the Year," and in the Juno Awards for "Pop Album of the Year" (The Listening). In November 2010, her debut album The Listening was given a gold certification by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for sales of 40,000 units. The certification trophy was presented during her Toronto concert on November 18, 2010. In February 2012, her album Siberia was nominated for a Juno Award in "Pop Album of the Year" Category. In March 2015, her album Little Machines won the Juno Award for "Pop Album of the Year". In March 2018, her album Skin & Earth won the Juno award for "Pop Album of the Year". Tours Information Here Trivia *She would pick tex mex over barbecue. *The first concert she attended was Rebecca St. James. *Her celebrity girl crush is Mila Kunis & Mila Jovavich. *She would pick heels over flats. *Her favourite tour snack is yoghurt and Granola mixed together. *If she could be on any reality show she would be on Talking Dead. *The biggest lesson she's learned in the industry so far is to be honest and be yourself. *Her hidden talent would be either making banana bread or painting. *She would pick cowboy boots over a cowboy hat. *She would pick a mixture of sweet and spicy. *She takes vitamins everyday in gummy form. *She doesn't like coffee but always has tea or lattes. *She would love to collaborate with Skrillex. *Her favourite game is World of Warcraft. *She considers World of Warcraft to be a cool way to talk to fans. *Some gifts she's gotten that she really enjoys: her name being put on a Mars Rover and The Keys Project. *One of her favourite things is seeing tattoos of pictures/lyrics that fans have gotten of her music/herself. *Her first time doing karaoke was in sakatoon. *She would rate herself 5/10 because she doesn't think any one should put themselves at a place where they think they're at their best. *She only has black pants. *She only has 2 pairs of pants. *Her and her parents say she talks too fast. *The first music video she saw was by The Cure and she was blown away by Robert Smith's hair. *She has all of Dark Funeral's songs on her iPod and is a big fan of black metal. *If she could pick another musical era to be born in she would pick the 70's. *She claims an embarrassing moment that happened to her was when she walked on stage with her fly down and toilet paper stuck to her shoe. *She has a bad habit of interrupting people. *If she wasn't making music she says ideally she would be in game design. *Her favourite pizza toppings are Hawaiian. *Her favourite cereal is the almond muesli with an x. *Her favourite outdoor activity is playing music outdoors. *When asked about her favourite cartoon the first one that came to mind was Stickin Around. *Her favourite snack foods are cookies, yoghurt(I think) and beef jerky. *She would pick brunette over blond since it's closer to Wonder Woman's hair colour. *She would pick vanilla over chocolate because it's stains your teeth less and makes you look like less of a moron when you smile. *She would pick Batman over Spiderman due to the massive Batman statue in her house. *She would pick Madonna over Lady Gaga because she's been around longer. *She would pick cats over dogs due to her missing her cat Stanley. *She would pick Justin Bieber over the Jonas Brothers because he's Canadian. *Her favourite Halloween costume was a unhappy camper. *Her favourite tour prank was covering someone's drums with vegetables. *Her favourite YouTube video is one of an owl being pet. *Her favourite one hit wonder is Smashmouth. *Her favourite accent is German. *Her favourite Disney movie is Pocahontas. *Her favourite superhero is Wonder Woman. *Her favourite cartoon character is Spongebob. *She says the most annoying and iconic TV show theme song is the one for Friends. *She says Pupfresh is fresher than soft candy corn before it gets stale. 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